Move over french toast! We’ve got a new favorite Saturday morning treat. It’s this syrup-soaked, frangipane-topped, crispy-edged ode to breakfast glory called bostock.
Given that it’s base is a buttery day-old brioche roll sliced into thick portions, bostock is already pretty rich to begin with. But then it gets soaked in an almond simple syrup and spread generously with frangipane almond cream. If you want, you can sprinkle some sliced almonds on top, too. Surprisingly, this isn’t overkill.
In the oven, the syrup caramelizes on the edges and the almond paste forms a crunchy top crust. The middle turns rich and custardy. Served up for brunch, this confection is like classy comfort food.
We first heard about bostock in a pastry book we reviewed a few months ago, Baking Artisan Pastries & Breads. And then it popped up again in the Tartine Bread book. In fact, once we started looking, we saw bostock everywhere, from personal blogs to Francis Lam’s column in Salon.com.
Trust us, this is going to be the next big thing. Have you ever had bostock?
• Almond Brioche Bostock from Pete Bakes!
• The Best French Toast You’ve Never Heard Of by Francis Lam in Salon.com
Related: Fresh Ideas for Stuffed French Toast
(Image: Peter Andrew Ryan at Pete Bakes!)
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I've had a bostock from the very bakery Francis Lam mentions in the column -- I read it because I recognized the baker in the photo. All of her pastries are delicious, but the bostock is definitely my favorite.
I love bostock. We make the recipe linked here pretty often. And by "we" I mean "my husband."
I think I unknowingly ate bostock recently out in Vegas. I had an almond-topped brioche from Jean-Phillippe in Bellagio. It sounds just like what you describe above and was absolutely delicious: crunchy, sweet, gooey, bready, yummy!
Oh, wow ... frangipane, you say? Sort of like an inside-out bear claw. How beautiful!
This caught my eye in the Tartine Bread cookbook as well. I had never heard of it before, but as soon as I get time to make a batch of the brioche, I'm SO in.
I've had it and it is indeed delicious!! Dorie Greenspan includes instructions on how to make it with her Brioche recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours. Highly recommend it! Her almond pastry cream is wonderful.